vatican city now. Robin and josh there in st. Peter's square, where they met pope francis just a short time ago. And we'll have more on pope francis, on this remarkable, revolutionary, first year in the vatican. It has been, george. Seeing that video again, sends chills down the spine. I like george saying, when we met the pope. That actually happened. We can prove it. That's a perfect word, revolutionary. Two others for this morning, humbling and memorable. We watched the pope, be this pope, the people's pope. Kiss babies, greet these huge crowds. Thousands upon thousands from his popemobile. And of course, giving an inspired thumbs up to his favorite soccer team from argentina. He was very happy that they brought the championship cup to him. It was an honor to have been there for it all. He walks the streets. Poses for pictures. Embraces the sick. And is not afraid to have a bit of fun. And engage, it seems, just about everybody. His twitter account, ranks in the top five, most-searched words on the internet. Where his is also the most talked-about name, in the year 2013. Former janit and nightclub bouncer. He's been called the people's pope. And in just nine months, he captured the imagination, not just of the world's 1.2 billion catholics, but the world itself. I think it's great. Everybody from the bartenders to the cab drivers, we love this guy. Reporter: He's ushered in a kind of truce in the culture wars. When pressed about gays in the church, he responded, quote, a gay person who follows god, who am I to judge him? And both "time" magazine and the leading gay magazine, "the advocate," have named him their person of the year. The first non-european pontiff in over 1,200 years. The style was different almost immediately. The thousands before him, as he bowed and said -- pray for me. Suddenly, there was a connection with people. That set the tone for this papacy. Reporter: The very next morning, he stunned locals and tourists alike, when he walked in st. Mary basilica, unannounced. He then went to the hotel where he stayed for the election and paid his bill. Just days ago, he celebrated his 77th birthday. And blew out candles, surrounded by children. Julia and michael chandler, americans visiting rome, could not believe their eyes when they saw pope francis reach for and bless their baby, mary agnes. Three days later, it happened again. When it actually happened, just get overcome by emotion of the moment. Reporter: Ethan mack, a student at boston college, had an idea to trade hats with the pope. And to his surprise, the pontiff went for it. For the two of us, he made our lives. We asked for a good pastor with a good track record with woman care for his people. And we got that on steroids. You certainly got that. We saw that today. In fact, when robin and I got to our seats, we saw we were right next to a family with three, young children. Spaniards living in london. And we knew when we saw the little faces that certainly pope francis would be stopping next to us. And he did. He loves the little children. And it was such a wonderful thing to see him with them. And everybody was very civil. Everyone wanted everyone to have their moment and not getting -- when we saw the family, josh was shameless. Can we borrow one of the kids, just in case. We want to make sure that pope francis stops by. But it's something that both of us will never forget, that simple moment. Very fair to say. Josh is still josh in st. Peter's square. Yeah. The back stories I could tell you two. It all worked out in the end. It all worked out in the end. Go to "gma" on yahoo! For the back story.

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